Via Brands

The Summer Season: MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick

MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick ($14.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a brightened orange-coral with a creamy, opaque finish. It’s a very rich, intense color that definitely brightens the complexion and works particularly well on warmer skin tones. I love the full-color coverage of this lipstick, and the amplified finish makes it such an easy-to-wear shade. Vegas Volt is a really classic MAC color, in my opinion. It’s just one of those shades that’s easy to be drawn to.

Is this the right coral lipstick for you? Would you wear it?

The Summer Season is a series of posts featuring bright, vibrant shades of coral, orange, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for a summer of fun — that runs through July 2010.

Philosophy Amazing Grace Shimmering Powder ($29.50) is a soft, icy pink highlighting powder. Its packaged in a mirror-finish compact and inside is a light pink powder with the word “grace” embedded in the center. When you open the compact, there’s a mirror with the phrase, “where there is grace, there is beauty,” which is a nice touch. I just like the uplifting spirit of the Philosophy brand, and I think this is a nice reminder to have in a compact, too.

It’s a fine-milled, very smooth powder that can easily be used to highlight specific areas or dusted lightly for an all-over glow. It does not impart much color, if any–it’s almost the faintest pink-tinged white. There’s a definite sheen rather than obvious shimmer or glitter that does the highlighting as well, which is always nice in a highlighter. Amazing Grace isn’t a new, innovative highlighter, but it’s a solid one if you’re looking for something soft, subtle, and with no real color. I’d say the slight pinkness of the product does give a healthy glow to the face without actually making it a light blusher, so it works for a highlighter.

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Product: 26/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: Pretty-in-pink, Philosophy’s newest highlighter does a nice job of softly highlighting the face without going overboard with glitter or shimmer. It’s nearly colorless, which may make it a nice option for those not looking to add color to cheeks!

Milani Brown Liquif’Eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil ($5.49) is a matte, medium-dark brown. I consider it a rather neutral brown, and it’s a great shade to use to define eyes for an everyday look. It’s less dramatic and obvious than black eyeliner. I love the Liquif’Eyes for their creamy feel and texture, easy-to-glide-on nature, and their long-wearing power. They’re really an all-around fantastic eyeliner, period.

This is a short review, as I just wanted to complete the set of Milani’s Liquif’Eye Eye Liners. You can see swatches of the four other shades and my full review here.

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Product: 30/30

Value: 10/10

Ease of Use: 5/5

Packaging: 5/5

Recommendation: For an easy-to-wear, soft and creamy brown eyeliner that won’t break the budget, Milani has you covered.

NARS Summer 2010: Enchanted Cream Blush

Enchanted is a sheer, soft peach with soft golden shimmer and a slight sheen. I’d like to put an emphasis on sheer, though, because I could not get it to show up on my cheeks, being around medium in skin tone (I’d say I’m on the lighter side of medium, but I’m certainly not fair). I did try to build up the color on my cheeks, but it just wasn’t working for me. On my skin tone, it ended up being more like a barely-there highlighter, unfortunately!

I can see this being really lovely and soft on fairer skin tones, and I think it would work well on both cool and warm skin tones. Cool skin tones will find this works as a soft peach that doesn’t turn orange, while warmer skin tones are easily complemented by peachy colors.

The formula itself is soft, creamy enough to melt into skin but not so creamy that it slips around. It dries down quickly and blends easily onto skin. I find that NARS Cream Blushes last me three to four hours before fading a bit. I like using them as bases and using a setting powder or powder blush on top to set and prolong wear to about six to eight hours.

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Product: 25/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’re looking for a way to prolong the wear of your blushes, you may find these cream blushes work well alone or as a base for your powder blushes.

The Summer Season: Make Up For Ever #203 Lipstick

Make Up For Ever #203 Lipstick ($19.00 for 0.13 oz.) is an extremely brightened neon hot pink. It has a creamy finish and look, with a slight sheen. It’s nearly opaque, and it applies smoothly and evenly. My favorite part about Make Up For Ever’s lipstick is that it wears incredibly well–I get a good four to five hours of wear–without drying out your lips! They’re scent-free and taste-free, too.

Make Up For Ever Smooth Talker (13) HD Blush ($25.00) is a soft, pale petal pink. This is a very, very cool-toned pink that looks and applies quite sheerly. On my skin, it makes me look a little corpse-ish, but I can imagine it looking incredible on my fairer friends. It reminds me a bit of MAC Well-Dressed blush but in a cream form.

I’ve reviewed the HD Blushes in the past, but to recap: the formula is smooth, creamy, and applies easily. It dries down quickly so you don’t find it migrates while you wait, but it gives you enough time to blend it out. The formula is fantastic with its creamy feel and long-wearing finish. The packaging itself could use a little tweaking, as the pump delivery system inevitably pumps out much more than you need.